PROJECT PLANT A TREE

PROPOSITION  Our Goal is to plant 3 apple trees and 3 cherry trees on the roof of the oaks. WHY!  The tree price would be determined by the size that would be best for the roof. As seen on the budget sheet.  The total amount for the materials would be $ for the pots, stakes, fertilizer, and potting soil.  The budget sheet is on the next slide showing everything we will need and the prices of these objects  You can find all the materials needed at Low’s

WHY THIS IS A GOOD IDEA  Apple and Cherry trees would be a great addition to the roof for many reasons  It would save money so you would not have to import fruit  Saves from trucks polluting the air transporting it.  Fresh fruit for the oaks and the students could enjoy straight off the trees  It’s good for the environment and gives more oxygen

THINGS THAT MUST BE DONE  Must have a crew that takes care of the trees  Watering  Fertilizing  Planting  Trimming  Making sure the tree is placed where it will get enough light to grow at it’s fullest  During the winter the trees will shed all the leaves and fruit and will need very little attention

TYPES OF APPLE TREES  Pristine  Williams’ pride  Redfree

PRISTINE  Ripening season and bloom season is early  Apple is medium to large size and has a yellow color  Texture is fine and flavor is tart, which is good for cooking and fresh eating  This tree pollinates very well with the other trees  Moderately resistant to fire bright and is resistant to powdery mildew

WILLIAMS’ PRIDE  Ripening season is early  Bloom season is mild  Medium to large in size and a dark red color  It is very juicy and spicy and is also good for cooking and fresh eating  This apple is immune to apple scab and apple rust  Resistant to powdery mildew and fire bright  Pollunates well with the mid – and late - blooming

REDFREE  Ripening season is early  Bloom season is mild  Apple is medium sized with bright red color  Flavor is sweet and aromatic  This apple is immune to scab and cedar apple rust and is moderately resistant to powdery mildew and fire bright  Pollinates well with other mid – and late - blooming

DWARF TREES / SEMI DWARF TREES  Easier to manage  Produces apples earlier than standard size trees  Need to be supported because of the weak root anchorage  Will grow to about feet tall

WHERE TO PLANT  Full sun  Good air circulation  Good soil drainage  Ideal pH for apple trees is near 6.5  Grow well in wide range of soil types  They prefer soils with a texture of sandy loam to a sandy clay loam soil

WHEN AND HOW  Purchased at garden centers as container-grown trees.  Can plant any time during the growing season as long as sufficient water is supplied.  The depth of planting is dependent on soil type and mixture.  In sandy loam soils that drain well, plants should be positioned in the planting hole at the level they were originally grown in nursery.  In soils that drain poorly, plants should be planted somewhat higher than they were in the nursery.  More air needs to reach the root system.  2 to 4 inches higher than they were during their growth in the nursery.  The width of planting hole should be at least 2 or 3 times the diameter of the root ball  Apply water at the rate of 2 to 3 gallons per tree every 2 to 3 weeks

FERTILIZE  Each year in the spring  Conduct a soil test every two years to determine the appropriate fertilizer and application rates

Tree ageAmount of fertilizer (lbs)

WHEN ARE APPLES ARE RIPE?  Mature at different times  Not a specific date at which you can expect to harvest our apples

CHERRY TREE  The skin of the fruit is smooth and ranges from pale to very deep red  Generally either sweet or sour, but there are a few intermediate types  Cherry tree ranges from 6 to 30 feet  Has reddish brown bark  Rows or patches of horizontal markings called lenticles  Foliage = is a pale to dark green  Leaves are 2 to 6 inches long and have a finely toothed edge

TYPES OF CHERRYS  Sour Cherries  Sweet Cherries  Duke Cherries

SOUR CHERRIES  Self-fertile  Good for growing in northern Ohio  Slightly more hardy

SWEET CHERRIES  Not self-fertile, but need other varieties for crosspollination  Popular for home gardening, but must surmount the hurdle of needing several trees of different varieties to insure having a crop  Is about as hardy as a peach

DUKE CHERRIES  Supposed to be crosses between the sour and the sweet  Also need other cherries for cross-pollination

PROBLEMS THAT COULD HAPPEN  Birds eat a major part of the tree  Cherries split if periods of heavy rain coincides with ripening

BLOOM SEASON  Early spring before leaves appear, and hence the flowers are susceptible to killing by late frosts

PRUNING  Sweet cherries  Are pruned least  Grow taller than those of the sour cherries and they just do not seem to demand the careful pruning required by many other kinds of fruit trees  Sour Cherries  Little pruning in necessary, especially if cross branched and weak branches are removed as they appear

CHERRY CROSS-POLLINATION  Should be careful  All sweet cherries require cross-pollination and the chances are that it is these which would be selected for the home gardening  Good pollinizers = black tatarian, Grant, Seneca, and Lyons  The duke cherries; Reine Hortense, and royal duke are self-sterile and either sour or sweet cherries can be used as pollinizers for these

FERTILIZERS  May be applied in the early spring at about the time the buds burst

DISEASES  Brown rot causes lesion on twigs and rot on ripening fruit  Bacterial leaf spot in which the spots often drop out, causing a shot-hole effect  Attacks both sweet and sour cherries and defoliates the trees  Spraying the fungicide when petals fall and after harvest is very helpful